Previously unseen phase of matter produced by ultrafast laser pulses

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An artist’s impression of a light-induced charge density wave (CDW). The wavy mesh represents distortions of the material’s lattice structure caused by the formation of CDWs. Glowing spheres represent photons. In the center, the original CDW is suppressed by a brief pulse of laser light, while a new CDW (at right) appears at right angles to the first. Credit: Alfred Zong
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Previously unseen phase of matter has been produced by ultrafast laser pulses hitting a pattern.

Adding energy to any material, such as by heating it, almost always makes its structure less orderly like ice, for example which melts to become liquid water.

But researchers at MIT have discovered that when a pattern, called a charge density wave (CDW), is hit with a fast laser pulse, a whole new charge density wave is created — a highly ordered state, instead of the expected disorder. (Nature Physics)

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